An update on what's happening across the West (Tue 23 Nov 2010) posted by Julie Thomson.
The last few months have been very busy; the next few months don’t look like being any quieter!
Local Learning Networks, events, consultations and of course Leadership have meant we have been working closely with partner agencies to ensure we support the learning and development of Scotland’s social services workforce. A brief breakdown of the last few months will hopefully give an indication of the type of activities we have been involved in.
We had a lot of planning activity around our events - Partnerships in Practice; Paths to Partnership; Personalisation – what does it mean? Kinship Care, Facilitative Trainer follow up days’ and Kinharvie’s Development day, if you attended any of these events, I hope you enjoyed them and watch out for more of the same.
The Facilitative Trainer follow-up days have proved popular but not as well attended as I had hoped; we will continue to support these for as long as there is a demand.
Meetings with colleagues from, Local Learning Networks, SWAN, VSWDU, SSSC, Local Practitioner Forums, people who use services and carers and a whole range of organisations and individuals are an important part of my role; if you think there could be an opportunity for us to undertake some partnership working, please get in touch with me by phoning 0141 848 1500 or emailing julie.thomson@westlearn.org.uk
I attended the Social Work Action Network conference in Glasgow Caledonian University http://www.socialworkfuture.org/images/swan/flyer2010.pdf; this was a great opportunity for us to tell delegates about the work of the Learning Networks and also make links with organisations from across Scotland and beyond.
Local Learning Networks run throughout the year, they meet every second month and often invite speakers along or focus on topics which interest Local Learning Network members; visit the LLN web pages for details http://west.learningnetworks.org.uk/show.php?id=206
LEARN (A Local Learning Network for people who use services and carers) meet every six to eight weeks in platForum, Burleigh Street, Glasgow. An event is planned to enhance understanding of roles and relationships for people who use services, carers, social care/social work students and all other interested parties. This will be a similar event to the one run in Glasgow in please click this linkhttp://data.learningnetworks.org.uk/workforce/451/Conference%20report%20March%202009.pdf to read the conference report.
Conference reports for our recent events will appear in due course, they will be posted onto these web pages as soon as I write them!
Leadership is an integral part of the Learning Network’s agenda; it plays a significant part in our day to day work. To read about out role please visit http://www.learningnetworks.org.uk/blogs.php
Before the end of the year we will be working alongside Scottish Consortium Learning Disability, The Richmond Fellowship, SSSC to name but a few.
Up and coming events
Personalisation/In-Control – What does it mean? 25th January 2011, The Waterfront Complex, Greenock.
Our Future Your Future – 27th January, The Mitchell Library, Glasgow
PVG Scheme (Protection of Vulnerable Groups) (Tue 7 Sep 2010) posted by Caty McColgan.
I recently attended a training session on the new Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme which will be implemented on 30th November 2010. This scheme was introduced after the response to Recommendation 19 of the Bichard Inquiry Report following the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham. Phase 1 of the implementation of the scheme will see any new paid or unpaid employee working in what is classed as Regulated work with Vulnerable groups, having to register with the scheme before they can start employment.
Full details of the scheme and who it effects can be found on Disclosure Scotland website. It includes guidelines and also an elearning tool to assist you in the process.
Open University Course (Thu 19 Aug 2010) posted by Caty McColgan.
Hi Everyone,
I am currently studying an Open University course on Information and Communications Technologies at Work. I have just finished my fourth Tutor Marked Assignment which has been both enjoyable and challenging. Let's just say my anxiety levels have risen ever so slightly.
I wanted to share my experiences with you and let you know how this course is helping me understand what type of learner I am, how and why reflection both in my work and home life is important, how to think about my future CPD opportunties and how IT Technologies can assist me in all of this. It is a whole new experience for me, as it has allowed me to think about my current role, what my strengths and weaknesses are and has given me an insight into my short term and long term goals. I would urge you to look to the Open University website for furthering your academic career or just to brush up on your CPD.
I will keep you updated with my progress.
Update (Fri 16 Jul 2010) posted by Julie Thomson.
We are in the process of formalising existing information we have about meeting venues across the West of Scotland; Local Learning Network members often ask if we know of conference/meeting venues outwith their own geographical area so watch this space!
Leadership is very much to the fore in the Learning Network – work is underway to move the Leadership agenda forward. Very recently SSSC commissioned research into different approaches to Leadership across Scotland and beyond; we will keep you up to date with developments as they happen.
The administration of Registration applications is an ongoing process for colleagues at SSSC, we will be supporting the sharing of information around registration over the next few months, follow this link to SSSC’s website it will tell you all you need to know about registration timescales http://www.sssc.uk.com/sssc/all-about-registration/what-are-the-timescales-for-registration.html
As always, if you have something you want to share with Learning Networks members, please get in touch.
On my return from holiday (Mon 28 Jun 2010) posted by Julie Thomson.
Having returned from a two week holiday in Devon, my thoughts are drifting towards the end of the year and all the events and conferences we have lined up. We listen to Local Learning Network members and asked for active contributions to influence the work we do at Regional and Local level.
We will be hosting events around SSSC Registration, Personalisation, Service User and Carer Involvement in training of staff and Social Enterprise; we will also be working with Local Practitioner Forums to encourage partnership working and sharing of effective practice.
If you would like to be involved in these exciting pieces of work, please contact me by phoning 0141 848 1500 or by emailing me at julie.thomson@westlearn.org.uk
Taming Tigers (Mon 17 May 2010) posted by Julie Thomson.
Last week I attended the ADSW conference.
Through our information stand, I promoted the work of Scottish Social Services Learning Network.
For me, the highlight of the conference was Jim Lawless; to find out more about him visit http://www.tamingtigers.com/site/rules.cfm?page=rules.
I found him to be inspirational, engaging and very entertaining; judge for yourself.
Please get in touch and tell us about speakers that made you think, challenged your ideas or generally made an lasting impression on you, email me julie.thomson@westlearn.org.uk
Thanks and have a great week.
Leadership Business Plan 2010-2011 (Thu 29 Apr 2010) posted by Julie Thomson.
I hope this Blog finds you well and looking forward to the week-end.
This week the Changing Lives: Leadership Business Plan 2010-2011 was launched by Adam Ingram, Minster for Children and Early Years. The plan sets out the key objectives for 2010-11, to find out more follow this link http://www.sssc.uk.com/sssc/news/action-plan-for-leadership-in-scotlands-social-services-launches-today.html
A resource I hope you will find useful is http://www.eventscotland.org/files/events-management-a-practical-guide.pdf. The aim of this guide is to assist effective event management through the provision of a step-by-step guide to the planning process, you’ll also find sample checklists and adaptable templates; let me know what you think of it julie.thomson@westlearn.org.uk
Just a gentle reminder that you may want to visit Dave Hingsburger’s blog, it’s interesting funny, sad and informative http://davehingsburger.blogspot.com/
A final piece of information for you – Lanarkshires’ Local Learning Network annual event will be held on Friday 4th June in Hamilton Townhouse, Hamilton. This event will be split into morning and afternoon sessions; topics will include Telecare/Assistive Technology, Care Commission self-assessment, Citizen Leadership, Personalisation/Self Directed Support and much more. If you would like to find out more please contact me either by email (see above) or phone me on 0141 848 1500…come along and find out more!
Leadership Programme for Action (Wed 21 Apr 2010) posted by Julie Thomson.
Next week sees the launch of Changing Lives Leadership and Management: Leadership Programme for Action.
As a National organisation, we have a responsibility to work in partnership with SSSC to take Leadership forward across Scotland. In the next few months, you will be hearing and seeing much more about Leadership in the Social Services sector so..watch this space.
Something related to leadership is Workforce Planning. Some of you may already be familiar with the Six step approach to workforce planning, if not visit http://www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/resource_library/latest_resources/six_steps_refresh.html and hopefully you will find this a useful and interesting resource.
Did any of you use the agree a date http://www.agreeadate.com/ resource? If so, let me know what you thought of it.
Why not check this out! (Thu 8 Apr 2010) posted by Julie Thomson.
Hope you are all well and managed to have a day or two off over Easter.
A useful site you may not have visited yet is the Joint Improvement Team website, it is packed full of useful information, to find out more visit http://www.jitscotland.org.uk/.
I am studying for an MSc in Project Management, a piece of software we have been told about is project in a box, it gives the basics of the Prince2 approach to Project Management, have a look http://www.projectinabox.org.uk/prince2_free.asp. Useless fact: in the context of project management Prince stands for Projects In Controlled Environments (PRINCE).
What's New (Wed 17 Mar 2010) posted by Julie Thomson.
What’s new? So much is happening in Learning Network West it is hard to know where to begin. The Local Learning Networks are running throughout the year with a variety of associated events and speakers; we have a follow on meeting for the now defunct SUCIG on 29th March; Putting Learning into Practice on 30th March; the Facilitative Trainer follow up meeting on 23rd April and lots of local meetings.
Leadership also features in our work-plan for the coming year, the finer details of this have still to be confirmed..watch this space.
If you have not yet registered for any of our events or meetings please do, there is much to be gained by being part of our Network.
Did you know about…http://www.agreeadate.com a great resource for managing meeting dates and much more?
Happy New Year (Mon 11 Jan 2010) posted by Julie Thomson.
Happy New Year!
In the absence of any other contributors, I thought I would post a slightly belated blog about our Dave Hingsburger days.
17th – 20th November - Dave Hingsburger spoke to over three hundred people from across Scotland; he enjoyed his lecture tour and in general, people enjoyed hearing his experiences, opinions and stories
To find out more about Dave and to follow his blog, please visit http://davehingsburger.blogspot.com/
I want to take this opportunity to encourage you to look around our new website and let us know what you think, you can use the feedback forms.
If you have a burning desire to post something on our blog please email caty.mccolgan@westlearn.org.uk